Not Vermont Bound and Jealous

Today Paul left to finish the Long Trail in Vermont. It was a little under a year ago that he slipped on a rock on the same trail -his body fell one direction and his knee turned the other. The prognosis- he ripped the meniscus in his left knee. He came home early, without even calling and his face, it may be the first time I saw his spirit waiver. At the time everything seemed questionable; would he be able to hike again, would his knee allow him to do the things he loved: run, soccer, etc? Amazingly, he had surgery in which they removed his meniscus, he did some rehab, and here he is a year later heading out to conquer the Green Mountains again.

And...

I am freaking jealous. OK, let me back up some.

Most of you know that I hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2003 and I left Paul for 6 months to do so. He was so supportive but he wanted to be a part of it. So he vowed to do a thru hike somewhere. Why not the Long Trail- the first long hiking trail in the US...plus it is in the great state of Vermont. So last year he went without me...I was so ready to drop out for the semester and head up there too. The call of the woods is intense and I crave that tranquility it gives, more often then I let myself think about.

Of course these past two summers have been jammed with school, and guess what...no hiking trips for me. I do get to lead trips at work, and a taste of the woods has been left lingering in the palette...but I have not hiked (I mean over 100 miles in one stretch) since May 05. Hence the slight jealousy. On the other hand...P will have a great time and that thought makes me smile.